Can Catholics Donate Their Organs? Here’s What the Church Says

[Michie]

The Catholic Church states that organ donation is an acceptable and even morally laudable practice.

A recent news report out of Kentucky revealed a slim but pointed risk regarding organ donation, one that underscores a key Church teaching about how the process of gifting one’s organs must play out.

Congressional testimony in September revealed a 2021 incident in which a man named TJ Hoover was declared brain dead and a medical team was assembled to harvest his organs. In the operating room, however, Hoover was found to still be alive. Multiple medical officials quit over what they described as a traumatic experience.

“Several of us that were employees needed to go to therapy,” one worker told National Public Radio. Government authorities are investigating the incident.

What does the Catholic Church say about organ donation?

Continued below.

Can Catholics Donate Their Organs? Here’s What the Church Says

The Catholic Church states that organ donation is an acceptable and even morally laudable practice.

www.ncregister.com

 

[RileyG]

My dilemma: I want to be buried un-emablmed in a shroud less than 24 hours after my death.

More than likely, that won't happen.

I'm 100% against cremation, so I will likely be buried embalmed in a casket.

I choose not to donate my organs because I have lifelong kidney disease, and I doubt my other organs are in the best of shape.

I admire those who do donate organs for the less fortunate, though.

They are heroes.